To request an IRS payment plan adjustment, log into your IRS Online Account and use the Online Payment Agreement tool — for a $10 fee you can change your monthly amount, shift your due date, switch to direct debit, or update bank details on an existing agreement. If you owe more than $50,000 or need to pay less than what would clear your balance within the collection period, you’ll need to file a Collection Information Statement on Form 433-F or Form 433-H instead.
Changes You Can Make Through the Online Tool
The Online Payment Agreement tool handles most revisions without a phone call or a mailed form. Once you’re signed in, you can:
- Raise or lower your monthly payment amount
- Change the day of the month the payment is due
- Convert manual payments to automatic bank withdrawals
- Update the routing or account number on an existing direct debit agreement
- Reinstate an agreement that has lapsed
Submit the changes and the update generally takes effect right away. If the monthly amount you enter is too low to pay off your balance before the collection statute expires (generally ten years from assessment), the system will tell you to raise it or point you to Form 433-F or Form 433-H for a full financial review.1Internal Revenue Service. Online Payment Agreement Application
What the Adjustment Costs
Revising an existing installment agreement costs $10 online. By phone, mail, or in person, the same change costs $89. Low-income taxpayers — those with adjusted gross income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines — pay reduced fees: $10 online (potentially reimbursable after you finish paying), $43 by phone, mail, or in person (also potentially reimbursable), and $0 for changes to an existing direct debit agreement.2Internal Revenue Service. Payment Plans; Installment Agreements
To claim the reduced fee, file Form 13844 within 30 days of receiving your installment agreement acceptance letter. For 2026, a single filer qualifies with adjusted gross income at or below $39,900 in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.; a family of four qualifies at or below $82,500. Alaska and Hawaii use higher thresholds.3Internal Revenue Service. Application for Reduced User Fee for Installment Agreements
When You Need to File a Collection Information Statement
Two situations pull the request out of the online tool and into paperwork.
The first is a balance over $50,000. If your total assessed liability — tax, penalties, and interest combined — exceeds that threshold, the IRS generally requires a Collection Information Statement. Individuals use Form 433-F, or the combined Form 433-H (Installment Agreement Request and Collection Information Statement). Businesses use Form 433-B.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 9465
The second is a partial payment installment agreement, where the monthly amount you’re proposing won’t fully pay the debt before the collection statute runs out. That also triggers the financial statement. You’ll document income with recent pay stubs, list housing, utilities, food, transportation, and other living costs, and report bank balances and property values. The IRS then measures those numbers against its own benchmarks.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 202, Tax Payment Options
How the IRS Decides What You Can Afford
The IRS will modify an agreement when your financial condition has changed enough to justify it. Job loss, a serious medical event, or a sharp drop in business income are the kinds of changes that carry weight. Simply preferring to pay less is not.
Your reported expenses get compared to the Collection Financial Standards. National Standards cover food, housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care, and miscellaneous items, and you can claim the standard amount without receipts. Anything above the standard requires documentation.6Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items
Housing and utility allowances are set locally and vary by state and county. The current Local Standards took effect in April 2025 and stay in place through at least June 2026. Your allowable expenses (national plus local) subtracted from your income give the IRS its view of what you can afford each month. The gap between that figure and your current payment is the case for lowering it.7Internal Revenue Service. Local Standards: Housing and Utilities
Does Collection Stop While the IRS Reviews Your Request
Yes, mostly. Once the IRS accepts your modification request for processing, it cannot levy your wages, bank accounts, or other property to collect the tax covered by the agreement. The protection runs for as long as the proposal is pending. If the IRS rejects it, the levy prohibition extends another 30 days, and if you submit a revised proposal within that window, protection continues through the review.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6331 – Levy and Distraint
Two things the freeze does not stop: the IRS can still file or refile a federal tax lien, and it will keep applying any tax refund you’re owed against your balance. A refund offset does not replace your monthly payment. You still owe the installment for that month.9eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6331-4 – Restrictions on Levy While Installment Agreements Are Pending or in Effect
Interest and Penalties Do Not Pause
Adjusting your plan does not stop interest or the failure-to-pay penalty. Interest accrues on the unpaid balance until it reaches zero, and the failure-to-pay penalty runs alongside it up to a maximum of 25 percent of the unpaid amount. The underpayment interest rate is 7 percent for January through March 2026 and 6 percent for April through June 2026.10Internal Revenue Service. Quarterly Interest Rates
Keeping an active agreement does buy one break: the failure-to-pay penalty drops to 0.25 percent per month instead of the standard 0.5 percent, as long as you filed your return on time and the agreement stays active. That said, lowering your monthly payment stretches the repayment period and increases the total interest you’ll pay. Weigh the short-term relief against the long-term cost before asking for less than you can actually manage.11Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
How Long the IRS Takes to Respond
Online changes generally take effect immediately. Requests that require a Form 433-F or 433-H review typically get a written response within about 30 days, longer during heavy filing periods. Levy protection stays in place for the whole review.12Internal Revenue Service. What if I Have Requested an Installment Agreement
If the IRS approves, the new terms replace the old ones and you start paying the revised amount on the revised schedule. If the IRS wants more information, respond promptly. An unanswered request can be treated as a withdrawal, which ends your levy protection.
If the IRS Rejects Your Request
You have 30 calendar days from the date of the IRS’s action to file Form 9423 (Collection Appeal Request) with the office or revenue officer who handled your case. Explain why you disagree, describe how you’d resolve the debt, and attach anything that supports your numbers — updated pay records, medical bills, a termination letter.13Internal Revenue Service. Collection Appeal Request
The IRS recommends first asking for a conference with the manager at the office that rejected you; these sometimes resolve things without a formal appeal. Submitting a good-faith revised proposal within the same 30-day window also keeps levy protection running while the new numbers are reviewed.
If You Default on the Modified Plan
Missing payments on a revised agreement produces the same result as defaulting on the original. The IRS sends Notice CP523 (Intent to Terminate Installment Agreement), giving you 30 days to catch up. Miss that window and the agreement terminates, making the entire remaining balance due at once.14Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP523 Notice
Once termination is final and appeal rights are exhausted, the IRS can levy wages, bank accounts, and other assets. A terminated agreement can also trigger passport denial or revocation if the debt qualifies as seriously delinquent under the FAST Act. Call before you miss a payment if you see trouble coming; you can submit an updated Form 433-F and request a restructuring rather than wait for the default notice. Reinstating a defaulted agreement costs $10 online or $89 by phone or mail.2Internal Revenue Service. Payment Plans; Installment Agreements
Get the Numbers Right Before You Submit
Whether you’re revising online or filing a Collection Information Statement, the figures need to match your records. Knowingly providing false information on documents connected to a tax compromise or closing agreement is a felony under 26 U.S.C. § 7206, with fines up to $100,000 and up to three years in prison. The IRS will also void any favorable decision that relied on fraudulent numbers. Check bank balances, income figures, and expense claims against your actual statements before you send anything in.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements